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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APRIL 1-7, 2022 BXR
can be reserved in advance
online or through
the app 24 hours to 7 days
in advance, and be used
for 24-hour periods, with
free delivery.
Veo offers free adaptive
wheelchair attachments —
like the ones Bird is now
offering — by reservation
for up to a week with free
delivery, and customers arrange
everything through
Veo customer service.
Bird’s new program
will offer 350-watt motor
lightweight removable Li-
-ion battery-powered attachments
that are compatible
with most wheelchair
models, according to the
company.
Residents in the phase
one e-scooter pilot area —
which includes the northeast
Bronx, spanning from
Woodlawn to Eastchester
down to Van Nest and Pelham
Bay — can utilize the
program. When the second
phase begins this summer,
residents in the phase two
area, which spans from
Parkchester to Country
Club down to Clason Point
and Throggs Neck, can apply
by emailing accessiblevehicles@
bird.co.
The motors can make
wheelchairs go up to 12
mph, according to a Bird
spokesperson.
People who use wheelchairs
will be able to navigate
hills, inclines and long
distance trips throughout
the city, according to Bird.
One of the fi rst program
participants, Bronxite Eduardo
Hernandez said the
device helps him accomplish
more faster.
“The new speed is awesome,”
he said in a company
release. “It makes supermarket
visits and other
errands signifi cantly easier,
and it’s incredibly useful
with uphill climbs that
would otherwise be very
tiring.”
Bird representatives
meet qualifying participants
in person to deliver
the wheelchair attachment.
The representative
will set it up and show the
rider how it works.
The company is working
with the city DOT,
Mayor’s Offi ce of People
with Disabilities and disability
advocates to spread
the word and fi nd potential
participants, the Bird
spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did
not say whether the electric
wheelchairs are intended
to be used on the
sidewalk, road or bike
lanes, but said the attachment
should be used “for
participants’ everyday
travel needs to help them
get to their destination
more easily and quickly.”
A DOT spokesperson,
however, confi rmed that
the accessible vehicles offered
through the pilot
can be used on the sidewalk,
roadbed and bike
lanes.
Bird launches e-scooter
wheelchair attachment program
BY ALIYA SCHNEIDER
It’s electric!
On March 24, e-scooter
company Bird launched
a program that can make
wheelchairs electric.
People who use wheelchairs
and live in the east
Bronx neighborhoods
included in the city’s escooter
pilot can now receive
a free attachment
for the duration of the City
Council-mandated program,
which began in August
2021 and will run up
to two years.
The three companies
participating in the pilot:
Bird, Lime and Veo
are all offering options for
people with disabilities,
as required by the city as
part of the pilot. But Bird’s
newly launched program
is unique because it offers
free devices that users can
hold on to for the rest of the
pilot period.
Bird has been offering
four-wheeled electric
power chairs that can be
rented through the company’s
app for 1-14 day intervals
at $10 per day and can
be picked up or delivered
for a fee depending on the
location.
Lime has been offering
a similarly structured
program, but for free, with
a $5 refundable deposit.
The company’s threewheeled
seated scooters
Bronx resident Eduardo Hernandez, one of the fi rst participants in
Bird’s new program, tries out his new electric wheelchair attachment.
Photo courtesy Bird
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